Techniques to configure physical compute resources for workloads via circuit switching

ABSTRACT

Embodiments are generally directed apparatuses, methods, techniques and so forth to select two or more processing units of the plurality of processing units to process a workload, and configure a circuit switch to link the two or more processing units to process the workload, the two or more processing units each linked to each other via paths of communication and the circuit switch.

RELATED CASES

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationNo. 62/365,969, filed Jul. 22, 2016, U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationNo. 62/376,859, filed Aug. 18, 2016, and U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 62/427,268, filed Nov. 29, 2016, each of which arehereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments described herein generally include performing circuitswitching for workloads.

BACKGROUND

A computing data center may include one or more computing systemsincluding a plurality of compute nodes that may include various computestructures (e.g., servers or sleds) and may be physically located onmultiple racks. The sleds may include a number of physical resourcesinterconnected via one or more compute structures and buses.

Typically, a computing data center may include a management entity todistribute workloads among the compute structures located within theracks. However, the management entity may currently distribute theworkloads in a manner such that physical resources may be underutilized.For example, a workload may be distributed for processing on physicalresources including four computer processing units. However, the sameworkload may be processed in two computer processing units and stillmeet the requirements of the workload. In this example, two of thecomputer processing units may have been able to process a differentworkload in parallel. Thus, embodiments may be directed to intelligentlypartitioning the physical resources without reducing bandwidth forinter-processor communications and maintaining dual paths ofcommunication.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the invention are illustrated by way of example, and notby way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings inwhich like reference numerals refer to similar elements.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a data center.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a rack.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a data center.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a data center.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a switching infrastructure.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a data center.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example of a sled.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example of a data center.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example of a data center.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example of a sled.

FIG. 11 illustrates an example of a data center.

FIG. 12 illustrates an example of a data center.

FIG. 13 illustrates an example of a sled.

FIG. 14 illustrates an example of physical compute resources.

FIG. 15 illustrates an example of physical compute resources in a firstexample configuration.

FIG. 16 illustrates an example of physical compute resources in a secondexample configuration.

FIG. 17 illustrates an example of physical compute resources in a thirdexample configuration.

FIG. 18 illustrates an example of a first logic flow.

FIG. 19 illustrates an example of a second logic flow.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various embodiments may be generally directed to determining a number ofprocessing units to process a workload. The determination may be basedon one or more requirements for a workload to be processed by physicalresources, such as processing units, memory, and input/output (I/O). Insome instances, the determination may be based on a processingrequirement for the workload, such as an indicated number of processingunits and cores, memory requirements, I/O requirements, a service levelagreement requirement for the workload, a time in which the workloadmust be completed, and so forth. In some instances, the number ofprocessing units to process workloads may be provided to a switchingcontroller or determined by the switching controller based on therequirements.

In embodiments, the switching controller may be processing circuitrycapable of perform instructions stored in memory, the instructions maybe switching logic to cause operations discussed herein. Moreover, theswitching controller may configure a circuit switch to link or maintaina link between a number of the processing units to process the workload.Moreover, the links may maintain dual paths of communication betweeneach of the processing units. In embodiments, the circuit switch may bean electrical circuit switch and the dual paths of communication may beelectrical paths of communication. In the same or other embodiments, thecircuit switch may be an optical circuit switch and the dual paths ofcommunication may be optical paths of communication. Embodiments are notlimited in this manner.

Reference is now made to the drawings, wherein like reference numeralsare used to refer to like elements throughout. In the followingdescription, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details areset forth in order to provide a thorough understanding thereof. It maybe evident, however, that the novel embodiments can be practiced withoutthese specific details. In other instances, well-known structures anddevices are shown in block diagram form in order to facilitate adescription thereof. The intention is to cover all modifications,equivalents, and alternatives consistent with the claimed subjectmatter.

FIG. 1 illustrates a conceptual overview of a data center 100 that maygenerally be representative of a data center or other type of computingnetwork in/for which one or more techniques described herein may beimplemented according to various embodiments. As shown in FIG. 1, datacenter 100 may generally contain a plurality of racks, each of which mayhouse computing equipment comprising a respective set of physicalresources. In the particular non-limiting example depicted in FIG. 1,data center 100 contains four racks 102A to 102D, which house computingequipment comprising respective sets of physical resources (PCRs) 105Ato 105D. According to this example, a collective set of physicalresources 106 of data center 100 includes the various sets of physicalresources 105A to 105D that are distributed among racks 102A to 102D.Physical resources 106 may include resources of multiple types, suchas—for example—processors, co-processors, accelerators,field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), memory, and storage. Theembodiments are not limited to these examples.

The illustrative data center 100 differs from typical data centers inmany ways. For example, in the illustrative embodiment, the circuitboards (“sleds”) on which components such as CPUs, memory, and othercomponents are placed are designed for increased thermal performance. Inparticular, in the illustrative embodiment, the sleds are shallower thantypical boards. In other words, the sleds are shorter from the front tothe back, where cooling fans are located. This decreases the length ofthe path that air must to travel across the components on the board.Further, the components on the sled are spaced further apart than intypical circuit boards, and the components are arranged to reduce oreliminate shadowing (i.e., one component in the air flow path of anothercomponent). In the illustrative embodiment, processing components suchas the processors are located on a top side of a sled while near memory,such as DIMMs, are located on a bottom side of the sled. As a result ofthe enhanced airflow provided by this design, the components may operateat higher frequencies and power levels than in typical systems, therebyincreasing performance. Furthermore, the sleds are configured to blindlymate with power and data communication cables in each rack 102A, 102B,102C, 102D, enhancing their ability to be quickly removed, upgraded,reinstalled, and/or replaced. Similarly, individual components locatedon the sleds, such as processors, accelerators, memory, and data storagedrives, are configured to be easily upgraded due to their increasedspacing from each other. In the illustrative embodiment, the componentsadditionally include hardware attestation features to prove theirauthenticity.

Furthermore, in the illustrative embodiment, the data center 100utilizes a single network architecture (“fabric”) that supports multipleother network architectures including Ethernet and Omni-Path. The sleds,in the illustrative embodiment, are coupled to switches via opticalfibers, which provide higher bandwidth and lower latency than typicaltwister pair cabling (e.g., Category 5, Category 5e, Category 6, etc.).Due to the high bandwidth, low latency interconnections and networkarchitecture, the data center 100 may, in use, pool resources, such asmemory, accelerators (e.g., graphics accelerators, FPGAs, ASICs, etc.),and data storage drives that are physically disaggregated, and providethem to compute resources (e.g., processors) on an as needed basis,enabling the compute resources to access the pooled resources as if theywere local. The illustrative data center 100 additionally receives usageinformation for the various resources, predicts resource usage fordifferent types of workloads based on past resource usage, anddynamically reallocates the resources based on this information.

The racks 102A, 102B, 102C, 102D of the data center 100 may includephysical design features that facilitate the automation of a variety oftypes of maintenance tasks. For example, data center 100 may beimplemented using racks that are designed to be robotically-accessed,and to accept and house robotically-manipulable resource sleds.Furthermore, in the illustrative embodiment, the racks 102A, 102B, 102C,102D include integrated power sources that receive a greater voltagethan is typical for power sources. The increased voltage enables thepower sources to provide additional power to the components on eachsled, enabling the components to operate at higher than typicalfrequencies. FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary logical configuration of arack 202 of the data center 100. As shown in FIG. 2, rack 202 maygenerally house a plurality of sleds, each of which may comprise arespective set of physical resources. In the particular non-limitingexample depicted in FIG. 2, rack 202 houses sleds 204-1 to 204-4comprising respective sets of physical resources 205-1 to 205-4, each ofwhich constitutes a portion of the collective set of physical resources206 comprised in rack 202. With respect to FIG. 1, if rack 202 isrepresentative of—for example—rack 102A, then physical resources 206 maycorrespond to the physical resources 105A comprised in rack 102A. In thecontext of this example, physical resources 105A may thus be made up ofthe respective sets of physical resources, including physical storageresources 205-1, physical accelerator resources 205-2, physical memoryresources 204-3, and physical compute resources 205-5 comprised in thesleds 204-1 to 204-4 of rack 202. The embodiments are not limited tothis example. Each sled may contain a pool of each of the various typesof physical resources (e.g., compute, memory, accelerator, storage). Byhaving robotically accessible and robotically manipulable sledscomprising disaggregated resources, each type of resource can beupgraded independently of each other and at their own optimized refreshrate.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a data center 300 that may generally berepresentative of one in/for which one or more techniques describedherein may be implemented according to various embodiments. In theparticular non-limiting example depicted in FIG. 3, data center 300comprises racks 302-1 to 302-32. In various embodiments, the racks ofdata center 300 may be arranged in such fashion as to define and/oraccommodate various access pathways. For example, as shown in FIG. 3,the racks of data center 300 may be arranged in such fashion as todefine and/or accommodate access pathways 311A, 311B, 311C, and 311D. Insome embodiments, the presence of such access pathways may generallyenable automated maintenance equipment, such as robotic maintenanceequipment, to physically access the computing equipment housed in thevarious racks of data center 300 and perform automated maintenance tasks(e.g., replace a failed sled, upgrade a sled). In various embodiments,the dimensions of access pathways 311A, 311B, 311C, and 311D, thedimensions of racks 302-1 to 302-32, and/or one or more other aspects ofthe physical layout of data center 300 may be selected to facilitatesuch automated operations. The embodiments are not limited in thiscontext.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a data center 400 that may generally berepresentative of one in/for which one or more techniques describedherein may be implemented according to various embodiments. As shown inFIG. 4, data center 400 may feature an optical fabric 412. Opticalfabric 412 may generally comprise a combination of optical signalingmedia (such as optical cabling) and optical switching infrastructure viawhich any particular sled in data center 400 can send signals to (andreceive signals from) each of the other sleds in data center 400. Thesignaling connectivity that optical fabric 412 provides to any givensled may include connectivity both to other sleds in a same rack andsleds in other racks. In the particular non-limiting example depicted inFIG. 4, data center 400 includes four racks 402A to 402D. Racks 402A to402D house respective pairs of sleds 404A-1 and 404A-2, 404B-1 and404B-2, 404C-1 and 404C-2, and 404D-1 and 404D-2. Thus, in this example,data center 400 comprises a total of eight sleds. Via optical fabric412, each such sled may possess signaling connectivity with each of theseven other sleds in data center 400. For example, via optical fabric412, sled 404A-1 in rack 402A may possess signaling connectivity withsled 404A-2 in rack 402A, as well as the six other sleds 404B-1, 404B-2,404C-1, 404C-2, 404D-1, and 404D-2 that are distributed among the otherracks 402B, 402C, and 402D of data center 400. The embodiments are notlimited to this example.

FIG. 5 illustrates an overview of a connectivity scheme 500 that maygenerally be representative of link-layer connectivity that may beestablished in some embodiments among the various sleds of a datacenter, such as any of example data centers 100, 300, and 400 of FIGS.1, 3, and 4. Connectivity scheme 500 may be implemented using an opticalfabric that features a dual-mode optical switching infrastructure 514.Dual-mode optical switching infrastructure 514 may generally comprise aswitching infrastructure that is capable of receiving communicationsaccording to multiple link-layer protocols via a same unified set ofoptical signaling media, and properly switching such communications. Invarious embodiments, dual-mode optical switching infrastructure 514 maybe implemented using one or more dual-mode optical switches 515. Invarious embodiments, dual-mode optical switches 515 may generallycomprise high-radix switches. In some embodiments, dual-mode opticalswitches 515 may comprise multi-ply switches, such as four-ply switches.In various embodiments, dual-mode optical switches 515 may featureintegrated silicon photonics that enable them to switch communicationswith significantly reduced latency in comparison to conventionalswitching devices. In some embodiments, dual-mode optical switches 515may constitute leaf switches 530 in a leaf-spine architectureadditionally including one or more dual-mode optical spine switches 520.

In various embodiments, dual-mode optical switches may be capable ofreceiving both Ethernet protocol communications carrying InternetProtocol (IP packets) and communications according to a second,high-performance computing (HPC) link-layer protocol (e.g., Intel'sOmni-Path Architecture's, Infiniband) via optical signaling media of anoptical fabric. As reflected in FIG. 5, with respect to any particularpair of sleds 504A and 504B possessing optical signaling connectivity tothe optical fabric, connectivity scheme 500 may thus provide support forlink-layer connectivity via both Ethernet links and HPC links. Thus,both Ethernet and HPC communications can be supported by a singlehigh-bandwidth, low-latency switch fabric. The embodiments are notlimited to this example.

FIG. 6 illustrates a general overview of a rack architecture 600 thatmay be representative of an architecture of any particular one of theracks depicted in FIGS. 1 to 4 according to some embodiments. Asreflected in FIG. 6, rack architecture 600 may generally feature aplurality of sled spaces into which sleds may be inserted, each of whichmay be robotically-accessible via a rack access region 601. In theparticular non-limiting example depicted in FIG. 6, rack architecture600 features five sled spaces 603-1 to 603-5. Sled spaces 603-1 to 603-5feature respective multi-purpose connector modules (MPCMs) 616-1 to616-5. In some instances, when a sled is inserted into any given one ofsled spaces 603-1 to 603-5, the corresponding MPCM may couple with acounterpart MPCM of the inserted sled. This coupling may provide theinserted sled with connectivity to both signaling infrastructure andpower infrastructure of the rack in which it is housed.

Included among the types of sleds to be accommodated by rackarchitecture 600 may be one or more types of sleds that featureexpansion capabilities. FIG. 7 illustrates an example of a sled 704 thatmay be representative of a sled of such a type. As shown in FIG. 7, sled704 may comprise a set of physical resources 705, as well as an MPCM 716designed to couple with a counterpart MPCM when sled 704 is insertedinto a sled space such as any of sled spaces 603-1 to 603-5 of FIG. 6.Sled 704 may also feature an expansion connector 717. Expansionconnector 717 may generally comprise a socket, slot, or other type ofconnection element that is capable of accepting one or more types ofexpansion modules, such as an expansion sled 718. By coupling with acounterpart connector on expansion sled 718, expansion connector 717 mayprovide physical resources 705 with access to supplemental computingresources 705B residing on expansion sled 718. The embodiments are notlimited in this context.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example of a rack architecture 800 that may berepresentative of a rack architecture that may be implemented in orderto provide support for sleds featuring expansion capabilities, such assled 704 of FIG. 7. In the particular non-limiting example depicted inFIG. 8, rack architecture 800 includes seven sled spaces 803-1 to 803-7,which feature respective MPCMs 816-1 to 816-7. Sled spaces 803-1 to803-7 include respective primary regions 803-1A to 803-7A and respectiveexpansion regions 803-1B to 803-7B. With respect to each such sledspace, when the corresponding MPCM is coupled with a counterpart MPCM ofan inserted sled, the primary region may generally constitute a regionof the sled space that physically accommodates the inserted sled. Theexpansion region may generally constitute a region of the sled spacethat can physically accommodate an expansion module, such as expansionsled 718 of FIG. 7, in the event that the inserted sled is configuredwith such a module.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example of a rack 902 that may be representativeof a rack implemented according to rack architecture 800 of FIG. 8according to some embodiments. In the particular non-limiting exampledepicted in FIG. 9, rack 902 features seven sled spaces 903-1 to 903-7,which include respective primary regions 903-1A to 903-7A and respectiveexpansion regions 903-1B to 903-7B. In various embodiments, temperaturecontrol in rack 902 may be implemented using an air cooling system. Forexample, as reflected in FIG. 9, rack 902 may feature a plurality offans 919 that are generally arranged to provide air cooling within thevarious sled spaces 903-1 to 903-7. In some embodiments, the height ofthe sled space is greater than the conventional “1U” server height. Insuch embodiments, fans 919 may generally comprise relatively slow, largediameter cooling fans as compared to fans used in conventional rackconfigurations. Running larger diameter cooling fans at lower speeds mayincrease fan lifetime relative to smaller diameter cooling fans runningat higher speeds while still providing the same amount of cooling. Thesleds are physically shallower than conventional rack dimensions.Further, components are arranged on each sled to reduce thermalshadowing (i.e., not arranged serially in the direction of air flow). Asa result, the wider, shallower sleds allow for an increase in deviceperformance because the devices can be operated at a higher thermalenvelope (e.g., 250 W) due to improved cooling (i.e., no thermalshadowing, more space between devices, more room for larger heat sinks,etc.).

MPCMs 916-1 to 916-7 may be configured to provide inserted sleds withaccess to power sourced by respective power modules 920-1 to 920-7, eachof which may draw power from an external power source 921. In variousembodiments, external power source 921 may deliver alternating current(AC) power to rack 902, and power modules 920-1 to 920-7 may beconfigured to convert such AC power to direct current (DC) power to besourced to inserted sleds. In some embodiments, for example, powermodules 920-1 to 920-7 may be configured to convert 277-volt AC powerinto 12-volt DC power for provision to inserted sleds via respectiveMPCMs 916-1 to 916-7. The embodiments are not limited to this example.

MPCMs 916-1 to 916-7 may also be arranged to provide inserted sleds withoptical signaling connectivity to a dual-mode optical switchinginfrastructure 914, which may be the same as—or similar to—dual-modeoptical switching infrastructure 514 of FIG. 5. In various embodiments,optical connectors contained in MPCMs 916-1 to 916-7 may be designed tocouple with counterpart optical connectors contained in MPCMs ofinserted sleds to provide such sleds with optical signaling connectivityto dual-mode optical switching infrastructure 914 via respective lengthsof optical cabling 922-1 to 922-7. In some embodiments, each such lengthof optical cabling may extend from its corresponding MPCM to an opticalinterconnect loom 923 that is external to the sled spaces of rack 902.In various embodiments, optical interconnect loom 923 may be arranged topass through a support post or other type of load-bearing element ofrack 902. The embodiments are not limited in this context. Becauseinserted sleds connect to an optical switching infrastructure via MPCMs,the resources typically spent in manually configuring the rack cablingto accommodate a newly inserted sled can be saved.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example of a sled 1004 that may be representativeof a sled designed for use in conjunction with rack 902 of FIG. 9according to some embodiments. Sled 1004 may feature an MPCM 1016 thatcomprises an optical connector 1016A and a power connector 1016B, andthat is designed to couple with a counterpart MPCM of a sled space inconjunction with insertion of MPCM 1016 into that sled space. CouplingMPCM 1016 with such a counterpart MPCM may cause power connector 1016 tocouple with a power connector comprised in the counterpart MPCM. Thismay generally enable physical resources 1005 of sled 1004 to sourcepower from an external source, via power connector 1016 and powertransmission media 1024 that conductively couples power connector 1016to physical resources 1005.

Sled 1004 may also include dual-mode optical network interface circuitry1026. Dual-mode optical network interface circuitry 1026 may generallycomprise circuitry that is capable of communicating over opticalsignaling media according to each of multiple link-layer protocolssupported by dual-mode optical switching infrastructure 914 of FIG. 9.In some embodiments, dual-mode optical network interface circuitry 1026may be capable both of Ethernet protocol communications and ofcommunications according to a second, high-performance protocol. Invarious embodiments, dual-mode optical network interface circuitry 1026may include one or more optical transceiver modules 1027, each of whichmay be capable of transmitting and receiving optical signals over eachof one or more optical channels. The embodiments are not limited in thiscontext.

Coupling MPCM 1016 with a counterpart MPCM of a sled space in a givenrack may cause optical connector 1016A to couple with an opticalconnector comprised in the counterpart MPCM. This may generallyestablish optical connectivity between optical cabling of the sled anddual-mode optical network interface circuitry 1026, via each of a set ofoptical channels 1025. Dual-mode optical network interface circuitry1026 may communicate with the physical resources 1005 of sled 1004 viaelectrical signaling media 1028. In addition to the dimensions of thesleds and arrangement of components on the sleds to provide improvedcooling and enable operation at a relatively higher thermal envelope(e.g., 250 W), as described above with reference to FIG. 9, in someembodiments, a sled may include one or more additional features tofacilitate air cooling, such as a heatpipe and/or heat sinks arranged todissipate heat generated by physical resources 1005. It is worthy ofnote that although the example sled 1004 depicted in FIG. 10 does notfeature an expansion connector, any given sled that features the designelements of sled 1004 may also feature an expansion connector accordingto some embodiments. The embodiments are not limited in this context.

FIG. 11 illustrates an example of a data center 1100 that may generallybe representative of one in/for which one or more techniques describedherein may be implemented according to various embodiments. As reflectedin FIG. 11, a physical infrastructure management framework 1150A may beimplemented to facilitate management of a physical infrastructure 1100Aof data center 1100. In various embodiments, one function of physicalinfrastructure management framework 1150A may be to manage automatedmaintenance functions within data center 1100, such as the use ofrobotic maintenance equipment to service computing equipment withinphysical infrastructure 1100A. In some embodiments, physicalinfrastructure 1100A may feature an advanced telemetry system thatperforms telemetry reporting that is sufficiently robust to supportremote automated management of physical infrastructure 1100A. In variousembodiments, telemetry information provided by such an advancedtelemetry system may support features such as failureprediction/prevention capabilities and capacity planning capabilities.In some embodiments, physical infrastructure management framework 1150Amay also be configured to manage authentication of physicalinfrastructure components using hardware attestation techniques. Forexample, robots may verify the authenticity of components beforeinstallation by analyzing information collected from a radio frequencyidentification (RFID) tag associated with each component to beinstalled. The embodiments are not limited in this context.

As shown in FIG. 11, the physical infrastructure 1100A of data center1100 may comprise an optical fabric 1112, which may include a dual-modeoptical switching infrastructure 1114. Optical fabric 1112 and dual-modeoptical switching infrastructure 1114 may be the same as—or similarto—optical fabric 412 of FIG. 4 and dual-mode optical switchinginfrastructure 514 of FIG. 5, respectively, and may providehigh-bandwidth, low-latency, multi-protocol connectivity among sleds ofdata center 1100. As discussed above, with reference to FIG. 1, invarious embodiments, the availability of such connectivity may make itfeasible to disaggregate and dynamically pool resources such asaccelerators, memory, and storage. In some embodiments, for example, oneor more pooled accelerator sleds 1130 may be included among the physicalinfrastructure 1100A of data center 1100, each of which may comprise apool of accelerator resources—such as co-processors and/or FPGAs, forexample—that is available globally accessible to other sleds via opticalfabric 1112 and dual-mode optical switching infrastructure 1114.

In another example, in various embodiments, one or more pooled storagesleds 1132 may be included among the physical infrastructure 1100A ofdata center 1100, each of which may comprise a pool of storage resourcesthat is available globally accessible to other sleds via optical fabric1112 and dual-mode optical switching infrastructure 1114. In someembodiments, such pooled storage sleds 1132 may comprise pools ofsolid-state storage devices such as solid-state drives (SSDs). Invarious embodiments, one or more high-performance processing sleds 1134may be included among the physical infrastructure 1100A of data center1100. In some embodiments, high-performance processing sleds 1134 maycomprise pools of high-performance processors, as well as coolingfeatures that enhance air cooling to yield a higher thermal envelope ofup to 250 W or more. In various embodiments, any given high-performanceprocessing sled 1134 may feature an expansion connector 1117 that canaccept a far memory expansion sled, such that the far memory that islocally available to that high-performance processing sled 1134 isdisaggregated from the processors and near memory comprised on thatsled. In some embodiments, such a high-performance processing sled 1134may be configured with far memory using an expansion sled that compriseslow-latency SSD storage. The optical infrastructure allows for computeresources on one sled to utilize remote accelerator/FPGA, memory, and/orSSD resources that are disaggregated on a sled located on the same rackor any other rack in the data center. The remote resources can belocated one switch jump away or two-switch jumps away in the spine-leafnetwork architecture described above with reference to FIG. 5. Theembodiments are not limited in this context.

In various embodiments, one or more layers of abstraction may be appliedto the physical resources of physical infrastructure 1100A in order todefine a virtual infrastructure, such as a software-definedinfrastructure 1100B. In some embodiments, virtual computing resources1136 of software-defined infrastructure 1100B may be allocated tosupport the provision of cloud services 1140. In various embodiments,particular sets of virtual computing resources 1136 may be grouped forprovision to cloud services 1140 in the form of SDI services 1138.Examples of cloud services 1140 may include—without limitation—softwareas a service (SaaS) services 1142, platform as a service (PaaS) services1144, and infrastructure as a service (IaaS) services 1146.

In some embodiments, management of software-defined infrastructure 1100Bmay be conducted using a virtual infrastructure management framework1150B. In various embodiments, virtual infrastructure managementframework 1150B may be designed to implement workload fingerprintingtechniques and/or machine-learning techniques in conjunction withmanaging allocation of virtual computing resources 1136 and/or SDIservices 1138 to cloud services 1140. In some embodiments, virtualinfrastructure management framework 1150B may use/consult telemetry datain conjunction with performing such resource allocation. In variousembodiments, an application/service management framework 1150C may beimplemented in order to provide QoS management capabilities for cloudservices 1140. The embodiments are not limited in this context.

FIG. 12 illustrates an example of a data center 1200 that may generallybe representative of a data center or other type of computing networkin/for which one or more techniques described herein may be implementedaccording to various embodiments. As shown in FIG. 12, the data center1200 may be similar to and include features and components previouslydiscussed. For example, the data center 1200 may generally contain aplurality of racks 1202A to 1202D, each of which may house computingequipment including a respective set of physical resources 1205A-x to1205D-x, where x may be any positive integer from 1 to 4. The physicalresources 1205 may be contained within a number of sleds 1204A through1204D. As mentioned, the physical resources 1205 may include resourcesof multiple types, such as—for example—processors, co-processors,fully-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), memory, accelerators, andstorage. Moreover, the physical resources 1205 may be a physical memoryresource, a physical compute resource, a physical storage resource, aphysical accelerator resource, etc.

In embodiments, the physical resources 1205 may be pooled within racksand between racks. For example, physical resources 1205A-1 of sled1204A-1 may be pooled with physical resources 1205A-3 of sled 1204A-3 toprovide combined processing capabilities for workloads across sledswithin the same rack, e.g. rack 1202A. Similarly, physical resources ofone or more racks may be combined with physical resources of one or moreother racks to create a pool of physical resources to process aworkload. In one example, the physical resources 1205A-3 may be combinedand pooled with physical resources of 1205B-1, which are located withinrack 1202A and rack 102B, respectively. Any combination of physicalresources 1205 may be pooled to process a workload and embodiments arenot limited in this manner. Moreover, some embodiments may include moreor less physical resources 1205, sleds 1204, and racks 1202 and theillustrated example should not be construed in a limiting manner.

In the illustrated example of FIG. 12, the data center 1200 may provideintelligent processing functionality to process workloads via thephysical resources 1205. The intelligent processing capabilities mayinclude, but are not limited to, determining physical resources, such ascores, memory, and I/O, to process a workload and configuring a circuitswitch to group or combine a number of processing units in sockets toprocess the workload via dual paths of communication. For example, oneor more requirements may be determined for workload, the requirementsmay specify processing requirements, memory requirements, I/Orequirements, storage requirements, and so forth. Based on therequirements, a circuit switch may be configured to link or combine oneor more processing units having cores, a memory controller, and I/Ocontroller via dual paths of communciations. The combining of the one ormore processing units may enable the requirements to be met by providingthe apporiate physical resources 1205. Moreover, the processing unitsmay be combined via electrical or optical dual paths of communicationssuch that bandwidth is not reduced for communications between theprocessing units. The remaining processing units of physical computeresources, for example, may be used to process one or more otherworkloads in parallel, speeding up the total processing time for anumber of workloads. Note that the processing units in embodimentsdiscussed herein may be other processing elements, such as a computerprocessing unit (CPU), a processor, and so forth that is capable ofbeing in a socket coupled via dual paths of communication. Embodimentsare not limited to this example.

In embodiments, the data center 1200 may also include a pod managementcontroller 1231, which may be capable of providing the intelligentfunctionality and causing one or more workloads to be processed byparticular physical resources 1205 based on the needs and requirementsof the workload. For example, one or more requirements may be stipulatedin a service level agreement (SLA) for a workload. The SLA may be basedon a policy-based management system to help evaluate and maintain anadequate level performance for a data center. The SLA may specify a setof one or more values or metrics relating to one or more specific,measurable performance characteristics and specifying one or moredesired or required levels of service to be provided to a workload. Somerequirements may include, latency, cost, protection against localfailures or corruption, geographic dispersion, efficiency, throughput,processing times, etc. Thus, SLA requirements can be defined regardingany one or more of these characteristics and other characteristics. Bycollecting metric data and determining actual performance relative to anSLA, the pod management controller 1231 can determine whether a datacenter is performing adequately, and adjustments to the state of thedata center can be made if it is not. For example, the pod managementcontroller 1231 may adjust, send, cause, etc. which physical resourcesare processing particular tasks of workloads to ensure that therequirements of the SLA are being met. Moreover, the pod managementcontroller 1231 may configure of cause the configuration of theprocessing units based on the needs of the workload. The SLA may specifyprocessing requirements, such as processing time and processing cycles,required for a particular workload and the pod management controller1231 may act accordingly.

In embodiments, the pod management controller 1231 may determine SLArequirements from data stored in a memory or storage, such as data store1277. The SLA requirements may be stored in the data store 1277 based onuser input or computer determinations specifying particular SLArequirements for workloads. Thus, a pod management controller 1231 mayreceive an indication of a workload to be processed by the data center1200 from one or more clients 1279. The pod management controller 1231can determine the SLA requirements for the workload based on the data inthe data store 1277. For example, the pod management controller 1231 mayperform a lookup and retrieve the SLA requirements for the workloadbased on an identifier identifying the workload.

The pod management controller 1231 may utilize the SLA requirements forthe workload to determine which physical resources 1205 are to processone or more tasks of the workload and a configuration of for thephysical resources 1205 and processing units. Further, the podmanagement controller 1231 may provide an indication to one or moresleds 1204 having the physical resources 1205 of a processingrequirement for the workload. For example, the pod management controller1231 may provide an indication that a workload requires two (2)processing units to process a workload. In another example, the podmanagement controller 1231 may provide an indication that a workloadrequires a particular amount of memory and based on the indication acircuit switch may be configured such that one or more processing unitsare combined to provide the particular amount of memory. In anotherexample, the pod management controller 1231 may provide an indicationthat workload requires a particular I/O throughput and based on theindication a circuit switch may be configured such that one or moreprocessing units are combined to meet the I/O throughput. Embodimentsare not limited by these examples.

The workloads may be communicated to the appropriate sleds 1204 via oneor more network, such as an optical fiber network. In some instances,the workload may go through the pod management controller 1231. However,embodiments are not limited in this manner and some instances, theworkload may be sent directly from a client to the appropriate sleds1204 via a network, such as an optical fiber network.

As will be discussed in more detail, a sled 1204 may receive anindication to process a workload and one or more processing requirementsfor the workload. The sled 1204, and in particular, switching controllermay configure a circuit switch to provide a number of processing unitsto process the workload based on the processing requirement(s). Theprocessing requirement(s) may indicate a processing configuration toprocess the workload, a number of processing units, or a processing timein which the workload must be completed, a memory requirement to processthe workload, an I/O requirement to process the workload, and so forth.The switching controller may determine a number of processing units tocombine (if needed) based on the processing requirement(s). In someinstances, the switching controller may set or configure the processingunits based on the processing requirement(s) during a boot sequence of asled 1204. In other instances, the configuration may be set in real-timeor run-time. For example, the sleds 1204 may be providing a virtualenvironment to process the workloads and the processing unitconfiguration may be configured or set without requiring a reboot of anentire sled 1204. Embodiments are not limited in this manner.

FIG. 13 illustrates an example of a sled 1304 that may be representativeof a sled designed for use in conjunction with the racks discussedherein, for example. In embodiments, sled 1304 may be similar to andhave similar components and functionality as sled 1004 discussed in FIG.10. Sled 1304 may feature an MPCM 1316 that which may include an opticalconnector 1316A, and a power connector 1316B, and that is designed tocouple with a counterpart MPCM of a sled space in conjunction withinsertion of MPCM 1316 into that sled space. Coupling MPCM 1316 withsuch a counterpart MPCM may cause power connector 1316B to couple with apower connector comprised in the counterpart MPCM. This may generallyenable physical resources 1305 of sled 1304 to source power from anexternal source, via power connector 1316B and power transmission media1324 that conductively couples power connector 1316B to physicalresources 1305.

Sled 1304 may also include dual-mode optical network interface circuitry1326. Dual-mode optical network interface circuitry 1326 may generallyinclude circuitry that is capable of communicating over opticalsignaling media according to each of multiple link-layer protocolssupported by dual-mode optical switching infrastructure, as previouslydiscussed in FIGS. 9 and 10. In some embodiments, dual-mode opticalnetwork interface circuitry 1326 may be capable both of Ethernetprotocol communications and of communications according to a second,high-performance protocol. In various embodiments, dual-mode opticalnetwork interface circuitry 1326 may include one or more opticaltransceiver modules 1327, each of which may be capable of transmittingand receiving optical signals over each of one or more optical channels.The embodiments are not limited in this context.

Coupling MPCM 1316 with a counterpart MPCM of a sled space in a givenrack may cause optical connector 1316A to couple with an opticalconnector comprised in the counterpart MPCM. This may generallyestablish optical connectivity between optical cabling of the sled anddual-mode optical network interface circuitry 1326, via each of a set ofoptical channels 1325. Dual-mode optical network interface circuitry1326 may communicate with the physical resources 1305 of sled 1304 viaelectrical signaling media 1328. Further, the dual-mode optical networkinterface circuitry 1326 may also couple with and communicate with othersleds, a pod management controller, and a rack management controller viaoptical connector 1316A and embodiments are not limited in this manner.

The sled 1304 may also include physical resources 1305, including butnot limited to, a physical memory resource 1305-1, a physical computeresource 1305-2, a physical storage resource 1305-3, and a physicalaccelerator resource 1305-4. Embodiments are not limited in this manner.

A physical memory resource 1305-1 may be any type of memory, such as anymachine-readable or computer-readable media capable of storing data,including both volatile and non-volatile memory. In some embodiments,the machine-readable or computer-readable medium may include anon-transitory medium. Moreover, physical memory resource 1305-1 mayinclude in the form of one or more higher speed memory units, such asread-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM),Double-Data-Rate DRAM (DDRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), static RAM(SRAM), programmable ROM (PROM), erasable programmable ROM (EPROM),electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), flash memory, polymermemory such as ferroelectric polymer memory, ovonic memory, phase changeor ferroelectric memory, silicon-oxide-nitride-oxide-silicon (SONOS)memory, magnetic or optical cards, an array of devices such as RedundantArray of Independent Disks (RAID) drives, solid state memory devices(e.g., USB memory, solid state drives (SSD) and any other type ofstorage media suitable for storing information. Embodiments are notlimited to these examples.

A physical compute resource 1305-2 may be any type of circuitry capableof processing information. Moreover, a physical compute resources 1305-2may be implemented using any processor or logic device. The physicalcompute resource 1305-2 may be one or more of any type of computationalelement, such as but not limited to, a processing core, amicroprocessor, a processor, central processing unit, digital signalprocessing unit, dual-core processor, mobile device processor, desktopprocessor, single core processor, a system-on-chip (SoC) device, complexinstruction set computing (CISC) microprocessor, a reduced instructionset (RISC) microprocessor, a very long instruction word (VLIW)microprocessor, or any other type of processor or processing circuit ona single chip or integrated circuit. The physical compute resource1305-2 may be connected to and communicate with the other physicalresources 1305 of the computing system via an interconnect, such as oneor more buses, control lines, and data lines.

In embodiments, the physical compute resource 1305-2 may include anynumber of processing units having a number of cores, e.g. two, four,eight, sixteen, thirty-two, etc., which may each be capable ofprocessing one or more tasks or instructions of a workload. Theprocessing units may also include a memory controller and an I/Ocontroller. The memory controller may control and process read and writerequests for memory and the processing unit. Further, the I/O controllermay control I/O operations for various buses and interfaces and theprocessing unit. As will be discussed in more detail below, each of theprocessing units may be coupled with each other via electrical oroptical dual paths of communication via a switch. The switch may enablegrouping or combining a subset (or entire) number of processing units toprocess a workload. The switch may include circuit logic capable ofconfiguring a circuit switch to link two or more processing units toprocess a workload based on processing requirement(s), for example.

In embodiments, the physical resources 1305 may also include a physicalstorage resource 1305-3 may be any type of storage, and may beimplemented as a non-volatile storage device such as, but not limitedto, a magnetic disk drive, optical disk drive, tape drive, an internalstorage device, an attached storage device, flash memory, batterybacked-up SDRAM (synchronous DRAM), and/or a network accessible storagedevice. In embodiments, a physical storage resource 1305-3 may includetechnology to increase the storage performance enhanced protection forvaluable digital media when multiple hard drives are included, forexample. Further examples of physical storage resource 1305-3 mayinclude a hard disk, floppy disk, Compact Disk Read Only Memory(CD-ROM), Compact Disk Recordable (CD-R), Compact Disk Rewriteable(CD-RW), optical disk, magnetic media, magneto-optical media, removablememory cards or disks, various types of DVD devices, a tape device, acassette device, or the like. The embodiments are not limited in thiscontext.

The physical resources 1305 including a physical accelerator resource1305-4 may be any type of accelerator device designed to increaseprocessing power of a processor, such as the physical compute resource1305-2. The physical accelerator resource 1305-4 acceleratestransmission or processing beyond processor capabilities. In oneexample, a physical accelerator resource 1305-4 may compute fasterfloating-point units (FPUs) by assisting in math calculations or byincreasing speed. In another example, the physical accelerator resource1305-4 may be a graphics processing units (GPUs) for 3-D images orfaster graphic displays. Embodiments, the physical accelerator resource1305-4 may be implemented as field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs);however, embodiments are not limited in this manner.

FIG. 14 illustrates an example of physical compute resources 1405-2 thatmay be representative of physical compute resources designed for use inconjunction with sleds and racks discussed herein. In embodiments, thephysical compute resources 1405-2 may be similar to and have similarcomponents and functionality as the physical compute resources 1305-2discussed in FIG. 13. The physical compute resources 1405-2 may includea number of components and elements include processing units 1407-1through 1407-4 and a switch 1409 including switching controller 1489 anda circuit switch 1491. Each of the processing units 1407 may alsoinclude cores 1411, a memory controller 1413, and a I/O controller 1415.Although FIG. 14 illustrates a physical compute resource 1405-2including four processing units 1407-1 through 1407-4, embodiments arenot limited in this manner. In embodiments, the switch 1409 may beimplemented on the same die as the physical compute resource 1405-2 ormay be coupled with them and provide a connection to each physicalcompute resource 1405-2 to provide south bridge functionality.

The processing unit 1407 including the cores 1411, the memory controller1413, and the I/O controller 1415 may be implemented on a single die or,in some instances, one or more components may be implemented ondifferent dies on a single chip package. For example, one or more of thememory controller 1413 and the I/O controller 1415 may be implemented ona different die in a single chip package. A processing unit 1407 mayprovide basic, and complex processing capabilities for the physicalcompute resources 1405-2 to process and execute instructions. Further, aprocessing unit 1407 including the cores 1411 can run a single ormultiple (via hardware threading or Hyperthreading®) program contextwhile maintaining the correct program state, registers, and correctexecution order, and performing the operations through arithmetic logicunits (ALUs). In embodiments, the processing units 1407 may beintegrated onto a single integrated circuit die, or onto multiple diesin a single chip package. Note that although embodiments are discussedin reference to processing units, embodiments are not limited in thismanner and concepts discussed herein can be applied to computerprocessing units (CPUs), and other processing elements/components.

In some embodiments, the processing units 1407 and their sockets may becoupled to each other via one or more dual paths of communicationsthrough switch 1409 and circuit switch 1491. The dual paths ofcommunications may include electrical paths or optical paths, and thecircuit switch 1491 may be an electrical switch or an optical switch,respectively. The circuit switch 1491 may be any type of electricalswitch or optical switch to maintain the dual-paths of communicationbetween the processing units 1407, e.g. a Flit switch or a FED switch.Note that in some instances, the dual paths of communication may includeboth electrical paths and optical paths and the circuit switch 1491 mayinclude circuitry to switch both electrically and optically. The circuitswitch 1491 may provide high speed switching with minimal delay.

As will be discussed in more detail below, the switching controller 1489may be utilized to generate groups of one or more processing units 1407based on processing requirements for a workload. Thus, other processingunits 1407 may be excluded from the group to process the workload andare available to process another or different workload. Any number ofgroups of processing units 1407 may be generated by the switchingcontroller 1489 to process workloads. The switching controller 1491 mayalso reassign or generate different groups of processing units 1407 toprocess another or different workload once it completes processing acurrent workload.

In some embodiments, the switching controller 1489 may receive anindication to process a workload and one or more processing requirementsfor the workload. In some instances, the processing requirements mayinclude, a configuration arrangement of the processing units 1407, suchas 4 socket, 2×2 socket, 4×1 socket, 2×1 socket, and 1×2 socket. Theprocessing requirements may also generally define a number of processingunits 1407 required to process the workload and the switching controller1489 may determine the configuration of processing units 1407. Inanother example, the processing requirements may indicate an amount oftime in which processing of the workload must be completed within andthe switching controller 1489 may determine a number of processing units1407 to assign to a workload based on the amount of time and aconfiguration. Thus, the switching controller 1489 may determine two ormore processing units 1407 of a plurality of processing units 1407 toprocess a workload. In some instances, the processing requirements mayspecify an amount of memory required to process the workload. Theswitching controller 1489 may determine a number of processing units1407 to combine based on the memory required and memory provided(coupled) with each processing unit 1407. In another example, theprocessing requirements may specify I/O throughput and the switchingcontroller 1489 may determine a number of processing units 1407 tocombine based which processing units 1407 are capable of meeting therequirement. Embodiments are not limited to these examples and otherfactors may go into determining the combination of the processing units1407.

In embodiments, the switching controller 1489 may configure the circuitswitch 1491 to link the two or more processing units 1407 to process theworkload, the two or more processing units 1407 each linked to eachother via dual paths of communication. Thus, the linked processing units1407 may be able to communicate instructions, data, and otherinformation between each other via the dual paths of communication.Thus, embodiments discussed herein do not run into single path or noredundant path (RAS) issues and provide increased throughput between theprocessor units. In some instances, the linked processing units 1407 mayshare common resources, such as caches and registers, and maycommunicate with these common resources via the dual paths ofcommunications.

In embodiments, the switching controller 1489 may also be capable ofreassigning one or more processing units 1407 to process a differentworkload. Thus, different groups of processing units 1407 may beconfigured to process different workloads based on the need orrequirements of the workloads. Also, a sled and physical computeresources 1405-2 may be capable of processing more than one workload ata time. For example, a number of workloads may be processed in parallel.In one example, the number of processing units 1407 available forprocessing may be communicated to management controller and may be usedto assign workloads to particular sleds/physical compute resources1405-2. In some instances, the information may be communicated to a rackmanagement controller or pod management controller via an out-of-bandnetwork, for example. Embodiments are not limited in this manner.

FIG. 15 illustrates an example of a physical compute resource 1505-2that may be representative of physical compute resources designed foruse in conjunction with sleds and racks discussed herein, for example.In the illustrated example, the physical compute resources 1505-2includes a number of components and elements, such as processing units1507-1 through 1507-4 and a switch 1509 having switching controller 1589and a circuit switch 1591. Although FIG. 15 illustrates the physicalcompute resources 1505-2 including four processing units 1507-1 through1507-4, embodiments are not limited in this manner.

FIG. 15 illustrates one example configuration in which two processingunits, 1507-1 and 1507-2, are grouped together to process a workload(Workload_1). In embodiments, the processing units 1507-1 and 1507-2 maybe grouped or combined via switch 1509, and in particular circuit switch1591, to process the workload based on the processing requirements ofthe workload. In embodiments, the switching controller 1589 maydetermine which and how many processing units 1507 are needed for theworkload and cause the circuit switch 1591 to link or maintain a linkbetween the processing units 1507 using dual paths of communications.Thus, in this example, processing units 1507-1 and 1507-2 may be able tocommunicate with each other via dual paths of communications through theswitch 1509.

In this example, the remaining processing units 1507-3 and 1507-4 may beavailable for one or more other workloads to process on. Thus, thephysical compute resources 1505-2 may notify a management controller astatus or an availability of processing units 1507 to process additionalworkloads. This status or availability may be indicated in metric data,on a periodic or semi-periodic basis. Embodiments are not limited inthis manner.

FIG. 16 illustrates an example of physical compute resources 1605-2 thatmay be representative of physical compute resources designed for use inconjunction with sleds and racks discussed herein, for example. In theillustrated example, the physical compute resources 1605-2 includes anumber of components and elements, such as processing units 1607-1through 1607-4 and a switch 1609 having switching controller 1689 and acircuit switch 1691. Although FIG. 16 illustrates physical computeresources 1605-2 including four processing units 1607-1 through 1607-4,embodiments are not limited in this manner.

FIG. 16 illustrates one example configuration in which two processingunits, 1607-1 and 1607-2, are grouped together to process a workload(Workload_1) and two different processing units, 1607-3 and 1607-4, aregrouped together to process another workload (Workload_2). Inembodiments, the processing units 1607-1 and 1607-2 may be grouped orcombined via switch 1609, an in particular circuit switch 1691, toprocess the workload based on the processing requirements of theworkload. Similarly, the processing units 1607-3 and 1607-4 may begrouped together to process the other workload based on the processingrequirements of the other workload. Thus, in this example, processingunits 1607-1 and 1607-2 may be able to communicate with each other viadual paths of communications through the switch 1609 and processingunits 1607-3 and 1607-4 may be able to communicate with each other viadual paths of communications through switch 1609.

In the illustrated example, the dual paths of communication betweenprocessing units 1607-1 and 1607-2 and the dual paths of communicationsbetween processing units 1607-3 and 1607-4 may be electrically oroptically isolated from each other via the circuit switch 1691. In otherwords, information communicated between processing units 1607-1 and1607-2 will not be seen or detected by processing units 1607-3 and1607-4. Similarly, information communicated between processing units1607-3 and 1607-4 will not be seen or detected by processing units1607-1 and 1607-2. That is, processing units 1607-1 and 1607-2 willcommunicate data through dual paths of communication links that aredifferent from those that connect processing units 1607-3 and 1607-4.Therefore, processing units 1607-1 and 1607-2 are isolated fromprocessing units 1607-3 and 1607-4, and vice versa.

Note that FIG. 16 illustrates only two groups of processing units 1607;however, embodiments are not limited in this manner. In addition, once aworkload is complete, the processing units 1607 processing the workloadare available to process another workload. The processing units 1607 maybe reassigned in the same or different configuration. Embodiments arenot limited in this manner.

FIG. 17 illustrates an example of physical compute resources 1705-2 thatmay be representative of a physical compute resource designed for use inconjunction with sleds and racks discussed herein, for example. In theillustrated example, the physical compute resource 1705-2 includes anumber of components and elements, such as processing units 1707-1through 1707-4 and a switch 1709 having switching controller 1789 and acircuit switch 1791. Although FIG. 17 illustrates a physical computeresource 1705-2 including four processing units 1707-1 through 1707-4,embodiments are not limited in this manner.

FIG. 17 illustrates one example configuration in which three processingunits 1707-1, 1707-2, and 1707-3 are grouped together to process aworkload (Workload_1) and a single processing unit 1707-4 is to processanother workload (Workload_2). As similarly discussed above in FIG. 16,the processing units 1707-1, 1707-2, and 1707-3 may be grouped orcombined via switch 1709, an in particular circuit switch 1791, toprocess the workload based on the processing requirements of theworkload. Thus, in this example, the processing units 1707-1, 1707-2,and 1707-3 may be able to communicate with each other via dual paths ofcommunications through the switch 1709 and circuit switch 1791.Moreover, a dual path of communication may be established or maintainedbetween each of the other processing units. Thus, in this example, adual path of communication may be between processing units 1707-1 and1707-2, between 1707-1 and 1707-3, and between 1707-2 and 1707-3. Notethat the dual paths of communication may be maintained between each ofthe processing units 1707 having any number of processing units 1707.

In the illustrated example, processing unit 1707-4 is configured suchthat it processes another workload (Workload_2). As previouslydiscussed, the three processing units 1707-1, 1707-2, and 1707-3 may beelectrically or optically isolated from processing unit 1707-4 via thecircuit switch 1791. In other words, information communicated betweenprocessing units 1707-1, 1707-2, and 1707-3 will not be seen or detectedby processing unit 1707-4.

FIG. 18 illustrates an embodiment of logic flow 1800. The logic flow1800 may be representative of some or all of the operations executed byone or more embodiments described herein. For example, the logic flow1800 may illustrate operations performed by a physical compute resourceand switching controller, as discussed herein. However, embodiments arenot limited in this, and one or more operations may be performed byother components or systems discussed herein.

At block 1802, the logic flow 1800 may include receiving one or more ofa workload, an indication of a workload, and one or more processingrequirements for a workload. In some embodiments, the workload, theindication, and the requirement(s) may be received from a pod managementcontroller managing a number of racks or a rack management controllermanaging of a single rack. Embodiments are not limited in this context.

At block 1804, embodiments include determining a number of processingunits to process the workload. The number of processing units may bebased on a processing requirement for the workload. For example, theprocessing requirement may include a configuration for the processingunits, a time in which the workload processing must be complete, aspecified number of processing units to process the workload, a memoryrequirement, a I/O requirement, or any other requirement that may bespecified in an SLA.

At block 1806, the logic flow 1800 may include determining whether thenumber of processing units are available to process the workload. If atblock 1806, the number of processing units is available to process theworkload, a circuit switch may be configured such that the processingunits to process the workload are linked via dual paths of communicationbetween each other at block 1814. Further and at block 1816, theworkload may be processed by the processing units.

If at block 1806, the number of processing units is not available, adetermination may be made as to whether the new (just received) workloadhas a higher priority than any other workload currently being processedby processing units at block 1808. If not, the logic flow 1800 mayinclude waiting a period of time at block 1810 and repeating decisionblock 1806 until a number of processing units is available. The periodof time may be user or computer configured and may be any amount of timeor a typical amount of time in which a workload may be processed in. Ininstances, the logic may include notifying the pod management controllerthat it cannot process the workload and the workload may be processed bydifferent physical compute resources.

If at block 1808 the new workload has a higher priority than a currentworkload, embodiments may include pausing the current workload at block1812. In other words, the processing of the current workload may bepaused to free one or more processing units for the new workload. Thelogic flow 1800 may include determining whether freeing the one or moreprocessing units provides enough processing units at decision 1806. Thelogic flow 1800 may continue until the workload is processed and forprocessing any number of additional workloads.

FIG. 19 illustrates an embodiment of logic flow 1900. The logic flow1900 may be representative of some or all of the operations executed byone or more embodiments described herein. For example, the logic flow1900 may illustrate operations performed by switching controller, asdiscussed herein. However, embodiments are not limited in this, and oneor more operations may be performed by other components or systemsdiscussed herein.

At block 1905, the logic flow 1900 includes determining two or moreprocessing units of a plurality of processing units to process aworkload. As previously discussed, the determination may be based on oneor more processing requirement(s) and SLA for the workload. In someinstances, the number and/or configuration of processing units toprocess workloads may be provided to the switching controller.

At block 1910, the logic flow 1900 includes configuring a circuit switchto link the two or more processing units to process the workload, thetwo or more processing units each linked to each other via dual paths ofcommunication. In embodiments, the circuit switch may be an electricalcircuit switch and the dual paths of communication may be electricalpaths of communication. In the same or other embodiments, the circuitswitch may be an optical circuit switch and the dual paths ofcommunication may be optical paths of communication. Embodiments are notlimited in this manner.

The detailed disclosure now turns to providing examples that pertain tofurther embodiments. Examples one through xx (1-xx) provided below areintended to be exemplary and non-limiting.

In a first example, a system, a device, an apparatus, and so forth mayinclude switching controller coupled to a plurality of processing units,the switching controller to determine two or more processing units ofthe plurality of processing units to process a workload, and configure acircuit switch to link the two or more processing units to process theworkload, the two or more processing units each linked to each other viadual paths of communication.

In a second example and in furtherance of the first example, a system, adevice, an apparatus, and so forth including the switching controller todetermine the two or more processing units based on a processingrequirement for the workload indicating one or more of a number ofprocessing units required to process the workload, a configuration ofprocessing units to process the workload, a memory requirement toprocess the workload, an input/output (I/O) requirement to process theworkload, and an amount of time in which workload must be processed.

In a third example and in furtherance of any of the previous examples, asystem, a device, an apparatus, and so forth including the switchingcontroller to determine two or more different processing units of theplurality of processing units to process a different workload, andconfigure the circuit switch to link the two or more differentprocessing units to process the different workload.

In a fourth example and in furtherance of any of the previous examples,a system, a device, an apparatus, and so forth including the switchingcontroller to determine the two or more different processing units basedon a different processing requirement for the different workload, andisolate the two or more processing units from the two or more differentprocessing units via the links.

In a fifth example and in furtherance of any of the previous examples, asystem, a device, an apparatus, and so forth including the circuitswitch comprising an electrical circuit switch and the dual paths eachcomprising an electrical path.

In a sixth example and in furtherance of any of the previous examples, asystem, a device, an apparatus, and so forth including the circuitswitch comprising an optical circuit switch and the dual paths eachcomprising an optical path.

In a seventh example and in furtherance of any of the previous examples,a system, a device, an apparatus, and so forth including the switchingcontroller to configure the two or more processing units based on theworkload having a higher priority than a different workload.

In an eighth example and in furtherance of any of the previous examples,a system, a device, an apparatus, and so forth including the switchingcontroller to reconfigure the two or more processing units to process adifferent workload upon completion of processing the workload.

In a ninth example and in furtherance of any of the previous examples, asystem, a device, an apparatus, and so forth including a plurality ofprocessing units comprising cores, a memory controller, and ainput/output (I/O) controller.

In a tenth example and in furtherance of any of the previous examples, anon-transitory computer-readable storage medium, comprising a pluralityof instructions, that when executed, enable processing circuitry todetermine two or more processing units of a plurality of processingunits to process a workload, and configure a circuit switch to link thetwo or more processing units to process the workload, the two or moreprocessing units each linked to each other via dual paths ofcommunication.

In an eleventh example and in furtherance of any of the previousexamples, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, comprisinga plurality of instructions, that when executed, enable processingcircuitry to determine the two or more processing units based on aprocessing requirement for the workload indicating one or more of anumber of processing units required to process the workload, aconfiguration of processing units to process the workload, a memoryrequirement to process the workload, an input/output (I/O) requirementto process the workload, and an amount of time in which workload must beprocessed.

In a twelfth example and in furtherance of any of the previous examples,a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, comprising aplurality of instructions, that when executed, enable processingcircuitry to determine two or more different processing units of theplurality of processing units to process a different workload, andconfigure the circuit switch to link the two or more differentprocessing units to process the different workload.

In a thirteenth example and in furtherance of any of the previousexamples, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, comprisinga plurality of instructions, that when executed, enable processingcircuitry to determine the two or more different processing units basedon a different processing requirement for the different workload, andisolate the two or more processing units from the two or more differentprocessing units via the links.

In a fourteenth example and in furtherance of any of the previousexamples, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, comprisinga plurality of instructions, that when executed, enable processingcircuitry to process using the circuit switch comprising an electricalcircuit switch and the dual paths each comprising an electrical path.

In a fifteenth example and in furtherance of any of the previousexamples, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, comprisinga plurality of instructions, that when executed, enable processingcircuitry to process using the circuit switch comprising an opticalcircuit switch and the dual paths each comprising an optical path.

In a sixteenth example and in furtherance of any of the previousexamples, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, comprisinga plurality of instructions, that when executed, enable processingcircuitry to configure the two or more processing units based on theworkload having a higher priority than a different workload.

In a seventeenth example and in furtherance of any of the previousexamples, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, comprisinga plurality of instructions, that when executed, enable processingcircuitry to reconfigure the two or more processing units to process adifferent workload upon completion of processing the workload.

In an eighteenth example and in furtherance of any of the previousexamples, a computer-implemented method may include determining two ormore processing units of a plurality of processing units to process aworkload, and configuring a circuit switch to link the two or moreprocessing units to process the workload, the two or more processingunits each linked to each other via dual paths of communication.

In a nineteenth example and in furtherance of any of the previousexamples, a computer-implemented method may include determining the twoor more processing units based on a processing requirement for theworkload indicating one or more of a number of processing units requiredto process the workload, a configuration of processing units to processthe workload, a memory requirement to process the workload, aninput/output (I/O) requirement to process the workload, and an amount oftime in which workload must be processed.

In a twentieth example and in furtherance of any of the previousexamples, a computer-implemented method may include determining two ormore different processing units of the plurality of processing units toprocess a different workload, and configuring the circuit switch to linkthe two or more different processing units to process the differentworkload.

In a twenty-first example and in furtherance of any of the previousexamples, a computer-implemented method may include determining the twoor more different processing units based on a different processingrequirement for the different workload, and isolating the two or moreprocessing units from the two or more different processing units via thelinks.

In a twenty-second example and in furtherance of any of the previousexamples, a computer-implemented method may include processing using thecircuit switch comprising an electrical circuit switch and the dualpaths each comprising an electrical path.

In a twenty-third example and in furtherance of any of the previousexamples, a computer-implemented method may include processing using thecircuit switch comprising an optical circuit switch and the dual pathseach comprising an optical path.

In a twenty-fourth example and in furtherance of any of the previousexamples, a computer-implemented method may include configuring the twoor more processing units based on the workload having a higher prioritythan a different workload.

In a twenty-fifth example and in furtherance of any of the previousexamples, a computer-implemented method may include reconfiguring thetwo or more processing units to process a different workload uponcompletion of processing the workload.

Some embodiments may be described using the expression “one embodiment”or “an embodiment” along with their derivatives. These terms mean that aparticular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connectionwith the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment. Theappearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” in various places in thespecification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment.Further, some embodiments may be described using the expression“coupled” and “connected” along with their derivatives. These terms arenot necessarily intended as synonyms for each other. For example, someembodiments may be described using the terms “connected” and “coupled”to indicate that two or more elements are in direct physical orelectrical contact with each other. The term “coupled,” however, mayalso mean that two or more elements are not in direct contact with eachother, but yet still co-operate or interact with each other.

It is emphasized that the Abstract of the Disclosure is provided toallow a reader to quickly ascertain the nature of the technicaldisclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not beused to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. Also, inthe preceding Detailed Description, it can be seen that various featuresare grouped together in a single embodiment for the purpose ofstreamlining the disclosure. This method of disclosure is not to beinterpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed embodimentsrequire more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather,as the following claims reflect, inventive subject matter lies in lessthan all features of a single disclosed embodiment. Thus the followingclaims are at this moment incorporated into the Detailed Description,with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment. In theappended claims, the terms “including” and “in which” are used as theplain-English equivalents of the respective terms “comprising” and“wherein,” respectively. Moreover, the terms “first,” “second,” “third,”and so forth, are used merely as labels and are not intended to imposenumerical requirements on their objects.

What has been described above includes examples of the disclosedarchitecture? It is, of course, not possible to describe everyconceivable combination of components and methodologies, but one ofordinary skill in the art may recognize that many further combinationsand permutations are possible. Accordingly, the novel architecture isintended to embrace all such alterations, modifications, and variationsthat fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus, comprising: a switching controller,coupled to a plurality of processing units, the switching controller to:select two or more processing units of the plurality of processing unitsto process a workload; and configure a circuit switch to link the two ormore processing units to process the workload, the two or moreprocessing units each linked to each other via paths of communicationand the circuit switch.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, the switchingcontroller to select the two or more processing units based on aprocessing requirement for the workload indicating one or more of anumber of processing units specified to process the workload, aconfiguration of processing units to process the workload, a memoryrequirement to process the workload, an input/output requirement toprocess the workload, and an amount of time in which workload must beprocessed.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1, the switching controller to:select two or more different processing units of the plurality ofprocessing units to process a different workload; and configure thecircuit switch to link the two or more different processing units toprocess the different workload.
 4. The apparatus of claim 3, theswitching controller to: select the two or more different processingunits based on a different processing requirement for the differentworkload; and isolate the two or more processing units from the two ormore different processing units via the paths of communication.
 5. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein the paths of communication are dual pathsof communication and the circuit switch comprises an electrical circuitswitch and the dual paths each comprise an electrical path.
 6. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein the paths of communication are dual pathsof communication and the circuit switch comprises an optical circuitswitch and the dual paths each comprise an optical path.
 7. Theapparatus of claim 1, the switching controller to configure the circuitswitch to link the two or more processing units based on the workloadhaving a higher priority than a different workload.
 8. The apparatus ofclaim 1, the switching controller to reconfigure the circuit switch suchthat the two or more processing units process a different workload uponcompletion of processing the workload.
 9. The apparatus of claim 1,comprising: the plurality of processing units comprising a plurality ofcores, a memory controller, and a input/output (I/O) controller.
 10. Anon-transitory computer-readable storage medium, comprising a pluralityof instructions, that when executed, enable processing circuitry to:select two or more processing units of a plurality of processing unitsto process a workload; and configure a circuit switch to link the two ormore processing units to process the workload, the two or moreprocessing units each linked to each other via paths of communicationand the circuit switch.
 11. The computer-readable storage medium ofclaim 10, comprising a plurality of instructions, that when executed,enable processing circuitry to select the two or more processing unitsbased on a processing requirement for the workload indicating one ormore of a number of processing units required to process the workload, aconfiguration of processing units to process the workload, and an amountof time in which the workload must be processed.
 12. Thecomputer-readable storage medium of claim 10, comprising a plurality ofinstructions, that when executed, enable processing circuitry to: selecttwo or more different processing units of the plurality of processingunits to process a different workload; and configure the circuit switchto link the two or more different processing units to process thedifferent workload.
 13. The computer-readable storage medium of claim12, comprising a plurality of instructions, that when executed, enableprocessing circuitry to: select the two or more different processingunits based on a different processing requirement for the differentworkload; and isolate the two or more processing units from the two ormore different processing units via the paths of communication.
 14. Thecomputer-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein the paths ofcommunication are dual paths of communication and the circuit switchcomprises an electrical circuit switch and the dual paths each comprisean electrical path.
 15. The computer-readable storage medium of claim10, wherein the paths of communication are dual paths of communication,and the circuit switch comprises an optical circuit switch and the dualpaths each comprise an optical path.
 16. The computer-readable storagemedium of claim 10, comprising a plurality of instructions, that whenexecuted, enable processing circuitry to configure the two or moreprocessing units based on the workload having a higher priority than adifferent workload.
 17. The computer-readable storage medium of claim10, comprising a plurality of instructions, that when executed, enableprocessing circuitry to reconfigure the circuit switch such that two ormore processing units to process a different workload upon completion ofprocessing the workload.
 18. A computer-implemented method, comprising:selecting two or more processing units of a plurality of processingunits to process a workload; and configuring a circuit switch to linkthe two or more processing units to process the workload, the two ormore processing units each linked to each other via paths ofcommunication and the circuit switch.
 19. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 18, comprising selecting the two or more processingunits based on a processing requirement specified for the workloadindicating one or more of a number of processing units required toprocess the workload, a configuration of processing units to process theworkload, and an amount of time in which workload must be processed. 20.The computer-implemented method of claim 18, comprising: selecting twoor more different processing units of the plurality of processing unitsto process a different workload; and configuring the circuit switch tolink the two or more different processing units to process the differentworkload via paths of communication and the circuit switch.
 21. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 20, comprising: selecting the twoor more different processing units based on a different processingrequirement for the different workload; and isolating the two or moreprocessing units from the two or more different processing units via thepaths of communication.
 22. The computer-implemented method of claim 18,wherein the paths of communication comprise dual paths of communication,and the circuit switch comprises an electrical circuit switch and thedual paths of communication each comprising an electrical path.
 23. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 18, wherein the paths ofcommunication comprise dual paths of communication, and the circuitswitch comprises an optical circuit switch and the dual paths ofcommunication each comprise an optical path.
 24. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 18, comprising configuring thecircuit switch to link the two or more processing units based on theworkload having a higher priority than a different workload.
 25. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 18, comprising reconfiguring thecircuit switch such that the two or more processing units to process adifferent workload upon completion of processing the workload.